What you don’t say, speaks the loudest!
In today’s competitive world, your body must work just as hard as your mind, to convey the right message. Many professionals consciously combine the vital non-verbal communication to their verbal communication for achieving greater impact and a desired outcome. You will be surprised how your positive body language can help you persuade, impress and charm anyone that you talk to. There is also no doubt that to grow in your profession and to climb the ladder of success everyone should learn the science & art of winning body language. A positive body language is all about awareness of what is right and what is not, respect for self & others, consideration & etiquette. It is fair to say that body language is the key to your overall success.
Make a note of some winning body language tips that can give you the ultimate professional advantage in the business world today:
1. Use your eyes to connect at the heart level
A healthy eye contact shows to the other person that you are present in the moment, you care and that you are engaged in the conversation. Through eye contact you convey your sinceritytowards the other person and everyone likes a person who is sincere and who cares. Don’t do this because you want others to “feel” that you are doing it…do it because you “want to” pay genuine attention to what is being said and because “you genuinely care” about the person… and see the magic happen!
2. Use your Head to show you are listening
Moving the head right during the conversation can do wonders for you. Your head movement needs to be in sync with what you say and what the other person says. So how do you “show” that you are listening, you do it by physically demonstrating through actions like turning your head and body towards the person who is talking to you to pay respect, leaning forward to show interest, nodding to show that you are listening and understanding what is being said, tilting of head on one side to show that you are all ears & absorbing as much as you can, maintain the eye contact. By doing this you convey that this is the most important moment for you right now and that you are present here with all your head & heart and who wouldn’t like that…. we are humans and we love attention, don’t we!
3. Use your body postures & gestures to say more than your words
Your posture says a lot more about you than your words ever can. Through your standing, sitting, walking or hand movements you can show that you are either calm, composed and confident OR anxious, nervous and low in confidence. Your postures & gestures easily give away your state of mind, your mental wellbeing & your level of confidence. These messages that our body sends out areobserved, absorbed & decoded by the other person consciously and also sub-consciously creating results that you may or may not want. So be mindful of your body postures & practice these positive ones like standing tall, sitting straight, walking tall, not crossing your hands & legs. Also practice positive and powerful gestures like open arms with open palms facing upwards, a warm but firm handshake & use of fingers to only convey positive and encouraging signs.Your words alone cannot create the desired magic; your postures must be used to complete the message you are trying to give out!
4. Use your facial expressions to build relationships
Smile and the world smiles back at you… this is the power of your facial expression. Do you raise your eyebrows in disbelief and doubt, do you frown with anger or do you look sad and disinterested… all these are unpleasant and negative expressions and they don’t really serve you in creating a positive image in front of others. Lets start to consciously create positive and resourceful expressions on our face like; curious and interested eyebrows, excited and happy eyes, remember to smile not just through lips but also through your eyes. When you do all of this, you come across as a person who is healthy, considerate, approachable & warm and everyone loves a person like that as a friend, partner and as a professional!
5. Voice Delivery
Most relationships have gone sour not because of the words we chose but because of the tone of voice we chose…. Can you relate to this? Well, most of us can. This is one of the most important & powerful tools of body language. The right tone of your voice can build a relationship and mend broken relationships and the wrong tone of voice can break & destroy relationships. It’s not “what” you say; it is “how” you say it that determines your true feelings aboutthe other person. Always speak in a clear and controlled voice to convey confidence&care. Modulate the tone and pitch to convey your feelings & emotions attached to the message and you will be amazed to see how easily & beautifully you connect with people!
A mindful body language gives a professional the ability to control any situation. Also remember, what you put out there is what you will get in return, so master the art of winning people with your non-verbal communication to ensure a win-win situation for self & others at all times.